Petaluma National team in Little League World Series has plenty of players with Marin ties

THE LITTLE LEAGUE season has been over for Marin County teams for more than a month, but that doesn't mean interest in the Little League season is over in the area.

The Petaluma National Little League team of 12- and 13-year-olds is the first in the North Bay to compete in the Little League World Series that starts Thursday in South Williamsport, Pa. And the team — which faces a team from Fairfield, Conn. — will be cheered on by a number of Marin family members.

Second baseman Porter Slate, whose parents Heather and Michael (one of the team's coaches) both grew up in Marin, will have two sets of grandparents — Dolores and George Conlan of Belvedere and Joan and David Slate of Tiburon — behind him. And outfielder Dylan Moore, whose parents both attended Novato High School, will have a great-grandmother, two grandparents, an aunt and three cousins watching closely from Novato.

David Slate, who watched Porter's team compete in regional competition in San Bernardino last week before viewing the championship game on television Saturday, said he is thrilled to take in the proceedings.

Petaluma National is the first team from Sonoma County to ever qualify for the World Series, which began in 1947 — no Marin County team has ever done so — and the first from Northern California to make it to Williamsport since Aptos did it in 2002.

To continue its unprecedented run, Petaluma National will need to survive the eight-team U.S. bracket, which is essentially a double-elimination tournament that concludes with the U.S. championship on Aug. 25. The U.S. champion will then face the international bracket champ — which will come from an eight-team field that includes teams from Chinese Taipei, Canada, Curacao, Germany, Japan, Panama, Uganda and Mexico — for the Little League World Series title on Aug. 26.

"I can't tell you how excited we are," said Slate, who along with his wife will be among the Petaluma National fans in Pennsylvania for the team's Little League World Series opener. "But in these playoff games, I've been kind of nervous. Still, it's just great fun to go and watch the kids have a great time. Porter's been into baseball since he was first eligible to play; he loves the game and it is fun to watch him play."

"I've watched him play since the very beginning, when he was 4 or 5 years old," Dolores Conlan said of her grandson Porter. "I've watched him play since he was almost a toddler. So we're just overwhelmed to be watching this. Our friends everywhere are calling us. It's just unbelievable."

The "unbelievable" storyline, however, does not mean it has been easy to watch as each chapter unfolded — even though Petaluma National was a perfect 6-0 in its games in San Bernardino.

"Oh my God, you're watching it pitch by pitch," said Dylan Moore's mom, Mereena. "You don't get all the commentary from TV, you don't know what they're talking about, you don't see the instant replays. So it's really nerve-wracking."

One of those chew-on-your-fingernails moments came Saturday in the last inning of Petaluma National's West Regional championship game against Nanakuli Little League of Waianae, Hawaii.

With the Petaluma team leading 7-4 and needing just one more out to qualify for a trip to Williamsport, a single got past Dylan Moore in left field and two runners touched home plate while the batter moved to second base. But Porter noticed that one of the Hawaii runners missed third base and alerted his manager. A successful appeal play to third base resulted in the third out and set off a celebration among the Petaluma National players and the team's fans.

"He was going to get the ball and it took a weird spin and got past him," Jesse Moore, Dylan's dad, said. "That's when it gets emotional. You know, you see your kid out there and he thinks he just messed up for the team. Then they appeal it, he's out, game over.

"So his emotions went from one extreme level to another extreme level. And that's the intense part. Stressful? You know, it is stressful. But I think it's more emotional than stressful."

Despite the emotional rollercoaster, the families agree the experience has been a good one.

"It's been an incredible ride," said Porter Slate's mom, Heather. "There's a lot of ups and downs, a lot of high emotions versus low emotions, but it's worth it. All in all, this is their dream, so it's amazing that they've gotten there. ... It's really incredible.

"I think they have their minds set in the game and they're fine. But the bystanders watching and not being able to control anything, that's tough. But it's a lot of fun."

"It's really been a wild ride," added Mereena Moore. "There's been so much support from fans and families. It's been phenomenal. It's been nothing but a great experience."

The Petaluma National Little League all-stars figure to have a bigger cheering section on hand in Pennsylvania this week after the announcement Wednesday that Comcast SportsNet, the A's and the Giants have teamed up to make a $15,000 donation to help offset travel costs for players and their families. The team held a fundraiser at a Petaluma sports-themed restaurant Tuesday and is soliciting donations to offset travel costs via its website: www.petalumanational.org.